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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28569627">in the spotlight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/phis_corner/pseuds/phis_corner'>phis_corner</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>cold and unforgiving hearts [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, F/M, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a Drake, a bit of angst, but you don't have to read that first, okay i lied it's not only a bit lmao, set in the same universe as statue of ice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:02:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,503</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28569627</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/phis_corner/pseuds/phis_corner</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Galas were a necessary evil, but Marinette Adeline Drake had it easier than most.</p><p>Or, the Drakes attend a gala, and Marinette meets a boy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Jason Todd, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Jason Todd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>cold and unforgiving hearts [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2090274</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>208</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>in the spotlight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>SO. sid wrote a fic inspired by statue of ice and then I was inspired by the fic inspired by my fic to write a fic inspired by a fic that was inspired by my fic so this was born because I went back and reread statue of ice and realized I didn't develop the character relationships as much as I would have liked. So have this instead because I can't fit it into the main story without the plot dragging ToT</p><p>it's set in the same universe as statue of ice, but you don't necessarily have to read that first, although it is recommended.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Galas were a necessary evil, but Marinette Adeline Drake had it easier than most.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tim was the child that Jack and Janet showed off and paraded around, the one that would one day inherit the company simply because she was born a girl, and that was something Jack could not accept.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette was the one that was told to stay silent and stick to the shadows, out of the public eye as much as possible while still attending these events to keep up appearances. She just had to avoid drawing attention, while her younger brother had to spend the night as Timothy Jackson Drake with his polite company smile and always the perfect words flowing off his tongue to rope in potential partners for Drake Industries.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they arrive at the venue, fashionably late as per societal standards, Marinette smooths the nonexistent wrinkles in her ice blue dress as Tim covers any apprehension in his face with a careful mask of neutrality, as the fingernails digging into her shoulder finally loosen as Janet floats away to talk with the other socialites, wielding words as a weapon sharper than any knife.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Drakes disperse into the crowd, fitting perfectly among Gotham’s elite, and Marinette? Marinette stays off to the side and out of the way, finding an empty chair near the dessert table and carefully sitting so as to not wrinkle her skirt. She resists the urge to shift, because Drakes are calm and poised and do not move around in chairs until they are comfortable because they can never betray that they are not comfortable in the first place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The night wears on and every minute feels much longer than it should, so she busies herself with watching. Selina Kyle has been taking jewelry right off people’s hands, and as she looks on, the short-haired woman slips Lavinia King’s emerald ring off her finger and replaces it with a gold bracelet that was taken from Naomi Delaney’s wrist just moments earlier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She probably shouldn’t enjoy watching someone pickpocket others so much, but it is the only thing keeping the gala bearable, if only barely. The voices of chittering socialites surround her from all sides, drowning her in a sea of sound, as the chamber ensemble starts playing what a small portion of her mind dimly recognizes as part of Handel’s Hornpipe Water Music.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hands slowly form fists as the music and voices reach a crescendo, sound roaring in her ears and drowning everything else out even as others seem unaffected, crumpling the smooth silk underneath her fingers. The fists tighten as she resists the urge to curl up into a ball and cover her ears, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>you look like a child when you do that, Marinette, and you are a Drake, not a child. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A hand comes down on her shoulder and the only thing that keeps her from flinching is Janet’s ice-cold voice in her head, reminding her to </span>
  <em>
    <span>sit straight, be still, do not leave all those emotions on your face, they will be used against you-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A voice says something, and she realizes that she has missed it, too caught up in her head. She blinks, eyes focusing again on the person in front of her. It takes her a moment to realize that no, it isn’t Jack or Janet’s hand on her shoulder, but instead, it belongs to Jason Peter Todd - the kid from Crime Alley that Bruce Wayne took in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” She manages to make her lips form the words. “Could you please repeat that? I didn’t catch what you were saying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Jason says for what must be the second time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette stares for a moment, her brain registering the words, but not understanding. She can’t even remember the last time her own mother asked her that question, and yet here Jason is, asking that same question to a girl he barely knows, if he even recognizes her at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite Janet’s neverending voice in her head, always there to remind her to </span>
  <em>
    <span>keep your face blank</span>
  </em>
  <span>, something must crack in her mask of ice because Jason’s face shifts, changing into one she sees at night, when he’s wearing armor and a cape and is comforting victims.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Does that mean she is a victim? It is an interesting thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry if that came off as a bit abrupt, but you looked like you were stuck in your own head for a moment,” He backtracks, and Marinette holds his steady gaze, refusing to look away from his blue eyes even as they try and pick apart what’s left of her mask. (Maybe she wants him to, though she would never admit it. To admit such a thing is to show weakness, and she must never be weak.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it is alright,” Marinette gives her head the tiniest shake, trying to clear the rest of the sounds fogging up her mind. “I am fine. Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason looks mildly flustered for a moment, like he isn’t used to being thanked. “No problem. It’s Marinette, right? We have a couple of classes together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“English with Mrs. Rogers,” Marinette supplies. “And World History with Mr. Turner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason snaps his fingers. “Right! I’m Jason, but, uh, you probably already knew that.” A faint tinge of pink spreads across his cheeks and he ducks his head slightly in embarrassment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She did already know that from class, but even if she didn’t go to Gotham Academy, she’d know anyway. Everyone in Gotham who kept up with the news would - Bruce Wayne taking in a child from Crime Alley had caused quite the scandal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is hard, being a member of this society,” Marinette comments quietly, and his head snaps up again, blue eyes boring into hers. “A different kind of hardship, perhaps, than what you are used to, but difficult all the same. You are constantly thrust into the spotlight, whether you like it or not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Jason mutters. His right foot shuffles, kicking at imaginary dirt that isn’t there. “It sucks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes brighten for a moment. “But you stay out of the spotlight, right? When most people hear the name Drake, they think of Jack and Janet and their son Tim. How do you manage to do it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“By being the family disappointment,” The words spill out of her mouth before she can stop them, and her eyes widen at the same time Jason’s do. She’s said too much. A hand comes up to cover her mouth as if that will stop her from saying anything else, and she stumbles backwards as gracefully as one can stumble, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>you are elegant and poised, not some common street trash-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason opens his mouth to say something, but she never finds out what. “I’m sorry,” Marinette blurts, before he can say anything. “I-I have to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turns, ignoring his cry of “Wait!” and disappears into the crowd, doing what she does best and fading into the background, never to be seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She should have paid more attention, should have stayed in the shadows. But she was stupid and careless and now she has said too much, let words loose with no way to ever take them back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She will not make the same mistake again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next time she opens her locker at school, there’s a slip of paper inside with a script that is borderline messy, but not quite.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry for bringing that up at the gala - it was callous and insensitive. I know that this is not enough, but I hope you’ll accept this apology and forgive me. You’re a great person, Marinette, and I’d really like to be your friend.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She forgives him. Really, she does. It was not Jason’s fault to begin with. She was the one who’d said too much, who’d turned and fled and made him think he did something wrong, when the problem was her. (It’s always been her.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thinks she’d like to be his friend too, but friends were something that Drakes did not have. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Friends? Such a childish concept. You are above that sort of nonsense. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>If friends were below her, a Drake, then they must be downright unthinkable for the Waynes. The Drakes had status, yes, but the Waynes were untouchable, and yet Jason seems open to the idea. She wonders if it’s because he has not been adopted. If so, Mr. Wayne is sure to sit Jason down and teach him about their views on friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It will be better for both of them if they are not friends, she decides. It will only come back to hurt them in the future.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette Drake crumples the note in her fist and throws it into the nearest trash can before walking off to her first period class. Her hands tighten around her textbooks with a white-knuckled grip as the chatter of the students increases in volume, and she pretends that she cannot feel the blue eyes fixed on her and only her, watching her retreat down the hall.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>come find me on <a href="m3owww.tumblr.com">tumblr!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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